


wherever you are

by bvtterfliez



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fall Maiko Week 2020, I'm love them your honour, sometimes all you need is m/f fluff, super rushed but is fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bvtterfliez/pseuds/bvtterfliez
Summary: For Fall Maiko Week 2020!
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	wherever you are

**Author's Note:**

> For Fall Maiko Week 2020!

Sokka nudged Sokka in the ribs possibly for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. “We there yet?” he mumbled, barely conscious at this point.

Zuko scowled. “No,” he hissed back. He’d been _fully_ unconscious before Sokka had jabbed him. “Just wait, alright? You’ll see Yue and Suki later.”

 _That_ caught Sokka’s attention. “They’re not the only ones I’m excited to see!” he insisted.

Zuko snorted. “Uh-huh.”

Sokka grumbled and settled back into his seat. Zuko huffed but smiled. Sokka seemed happy with his girlfriends, and he deserved it.

Unfortunately, thinking about how happy Sokka was reminded him of how miserable _he_ was.

His shoulders sagged as he thought of how long it had been since he’d seen Mai. He missed her intelligence, her kindness, the smile she saved for the people she loved the most. He missed holding her in his arms as they drifted to sleep. God, he even missed their emo teenager days where they would complain together.

He missed his Mai.

* * *

Mai let out a small sigh. It was chilly out tonight, with mist settling in along the streets just enough to freeze your ass off but not enough to make it impossible to see so you could stay at home and NOT have to freeze your ass off. “Stupid art assignment,” she muttered. She was supposed to wait here for her partner to show up, but clearly, he had no intention of passing this class.

She shifted her feet around in her boots, smiling at the memory of when Zuko got them for her birthday. “Cause I know you like, uh, shoes?” he’d said awkwardly. “With like spikes and everything. So I got you a pair.”

“What a dorky way to say, ‘I got you this because I know you like it’,” she chuckled to herself. Zuko was a dork, but he was _her_ dork and that made all the difference.

She scowled at the poetry store nearby as if doing so would make Zuko come back from his journey studying the damn subject. “Bring my dork back,” she muttered. She shut her eyes and leaned against a lamp post. “I miss him.”

* * *

“I’m going to need you to explain why you packed this much stuff,” Sokka demanded.

Zuko flushed. “They’re all important!” he swore.

“Or you just, you know, don’t know how to pack,” Sokka remarked casually.

“I can pack!” Zuko insisted, flailing his arms in the air in frustration. As he did so one of his suitcases toppled to the ground, bursting open. Clothes, books and hair products flew out.

Sokka just stared. “… You spent this much on your hair.”

_“It was important!”_

Five hours later, he and Sokka sat side by side on the bus, Sokka grumbling about _incompetence_ and _total idiot_ , which Zuko decided to ignore. He stared grumpily outside of the window for most of the ride.

Suddenly, something- or rather _someone_ \- caught his eye. Dark hair in a pair of trademark black buns, and a seemingly impassive expression Zuko knew held maybe more emotions than anyone else.

_Mai._

He scrambled to his feet. “Excuse me, sorry,” he said, pushing past other passengers. “Hey!” he yelled. “Hey, stop the bus!”

He heard Sokka get up behind him. “Zuko, where are you _going_ -”

Zuko could barely register his words over his own excitement. He flung open the bus door and jumped out, running in the direction of the girl he loved. “Mai!” he yelled. “ _Mai!”_

Mai lifted her head, a _what in the world_ expression on his face. Zuko ran faster, flailing his arms about. _“Mai!”_

Mai turned around and seemed to notice him. A look of shock took over her face. “Zuko?” he said, shocked.

Finally, _finally_ Zuko found himself in front of her and folded his arms around her, swinging her in the air. “Zuko,” she breathed. “Zuko, I- I thought you were on some dumb poetry trip to find yourself-”

Zuko laughed, burying his face in her neck. “Well, I came back early,” he muttered.

Mai breathed a sigh and then pulled back to look him in the eye. “Why?” she asked sincerely.

Zuko smiled took her hands in his. “Turns out I’m myself wherever you are.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mai and Zuko are in Japan btw  
> Yue and Suki are both dating and are also dating Sokka, Yue has a jewelry store and Suki runs an antique tessenjutsu store  
> Mai is double majoring in art history and graphic design and minoring in psychology like the queen she is!  
> Sokka and Zuko are best buds and poetry nerds and decided to skip literally their entire freshman year of college to go traveling around the world and write poetry about it  
> This is so short but I love the concept of a Maiko and Yuekki fic (maybe in a space/futuristic setting?...) so I might get on that  
> Anyway happy maiko week!


End file.
